A reconciliation advocacy group says the Prime Minister cannot expect Aboriginal people to accept his proposal to recognise them in the constitution unless he is prepared to make a national apology for past injustices.

Prime Minister John Howard admits he has struggled with the issue of Aboriginal reconciliation during his time in office and has promised a referendum on recognising Indigenous Australians in the constitution if he is re-elected.

A forum being held in Sydney to mark 10 years since the release of the 'Bringing Them Home Report' on the Stolen Generations has heard that governments are still ignoring the report's key recommendations.

A declaration calling for a renewal of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians has been released by a group of young people, after a three day gathering in the New South Wales southern highlands.

Delivering a speech to the Sydney Institute last night, Dr Huggins said people have to work out for themselves what reconciliation means and doesn't mean.

In this extract from her speech, she says justice is about overcoming all the social disadvantages that can be summed up in one stunning statistic which says our children can expect to die on average 17 years earlier than the children of other Australians.

Dr Huggins has no doubt that we can only meet this enormous challenge if we work together as Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who care about it. That we work together with trust and with respect.